Technology is key to helping the company’s brands achieve these goals.

Concentration and compaction

To contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from Home Care products, Unilever Vietnam has applied technology in product concentration and compaction.

This will help innovate ultra-concentrated laundry liquid and fabric conditioners, thereby prolonging the time to use up the product contained in one bottle. This contributes to reducing the amount of plastic in packaging production.

In addition, product compaction and concentration technology allows creating a range of dilutable products, which means that the product will be contained in a smaller bottle and consumers can reuse their old empty bottles to dilute the product.

This technology also helps to develop weight-efficient chemical formulations for all laundry liquids, laundry powders. This makes transport more efficient, contributing to CO2 emissions reduction.

Recycled and renewable carbon in formulations

In addition to product compaction and concentration technology, the “Clean Future” program also cuts down CO2 emissions by replacing fossil fuel-derived carbon in Home Care product formulations with renewable carbon. 

Specifically, Home Care brands will use bio-science and industrial biotechnology to produce highly efficient cleaning ingredients from sustainably sourced biomass, such as the Rhamnolipids - a surfactant we are using in our hand dishwash detergent Sunlight, or new high-performing bio-enzymes.

Besides, the company also plan to turn CO2 from industrial emissions into useful chemicals and minerals through carbon capture and utilization.

Innovation in packaging production

Developing sustainable packaging is also an important activity that contributes to reducing CO2 emissions from products. In particular, the application of science and technology will drive the recyclability of plastic packaging.

Home Care brands at Unilever also apply innovation, science and technology in the packaging production from post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, contributing to reducing the amount of virgin plastic.

Several Unilever Vietnam’s Home Care products currently have bottles made from PCR plastic, including: Omo Matic Top Load Liquid Laundry Detergent bottle with 50% PCR; bottles of Comfort for sensitive skin, Sunlight Gentle dishwashing liquid, Sunlight Lemon 100, Natural Sunlight floor cleaner, Cif Nature, Lifebuoy floor cleaner, and blue Vim toilet cleaner all with 100% PCR.

Technology application in product formula and packaging development for Home Care underpins 3 main goals of the “Clean Future” program, which are:

- Eliminating 100% of Fossil Fuel Derived Carbon from Home Care products by 2030;

- 100% biodegradable formulation in Home Care products;

- Reducing the amount of virgin plastic and utilizing post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) in packaging; specifically, 100% of Home Care product packaging will be reusable, recyclable, or biodegradable, and more than 25% packaging using PCR by 2025.

PV